i dont know how interested anyone is, but this is my interpretation of the past three days.

Solder is who we think he is. Big guy. Upside. Dante will handle him.

Dowling is a corner who will compete with bodden.

Vereen and Ridley are backs to add to the rotation. I want to see more of a rotation this year than we saw last year. Sure we had a 1000 yard rusher in BJGE, but having a ton of guys to line up back there is an assett. Also everyone is freaking out about the ridley selection... I picture him as Sammy Morris. He will lead block and pound on short distance.

Mallett is my favorite pick in this years draft. As patriots fans we should understand how the media blows everything out of proportion... thanks to them we were able to draft brady's successor or a future trade chip when Newton busts. My personal opinion is Mallett will be the the starting QB in NE by 2015.

Cannon will start when healthy.

Smith will be our next Crumpler. Blocker and leader.

Carter is a project. Add him to the slew.

Williams... as far as I can tell he sucks. I am sure Belichick sees something thought. Probably STs.

This overall was a great draft. We have young guys at OLB and DE and you cannot get better if you continue to replace players and hinder development.

"It is not about collecting talent. It is about building a team." -BB

This draft proves that point. Solid guys this year. Both for now and for the future.

I hope things turn out as you see them. Considering BB is in charge, I think that's more likely than not.

I see Williams as competition for Slater (along with the many other DBs we have on the roster). With the addition of Mallett, we'll be carrying 3 QBs, and with Lee Smith, we may be carrying 4 TEs. That could mean the offensive player that doesn't make the team comes from the WR position. That would probably mean Slater.

i dont know how interested anyone is, but this is my interpretation of the past three days. Solder is who we think he is. Big guy. Upside. Dante will handle him. Dowling is a corner who will compete with bodden. Vereen and Ridley are backs to add to the rotation. I want to see more of a rotation this year than we saw last year. Sure we had a 1000 yard rusher in BJGE, but having a ton of guys to line up back there is an assett. Also everyone is freaking out about the ridley selection... I picture him as Sammy Morris. He will lead block and pound on short distance. Mallett is my favorite pick in this years draft. As patriots fans we should understand how the media blows everything out of proportion... thanks to them we were able to draft brady's successor or a future trade chip when Newton busts. My personal opinion is Mallett will be the the starting QB in NE by 2015. Cannon will start when healthy. Smith will be our next Crumpler. Blocker and leader. Carter is a project. Add him to the slew. Williams... as far as I can tell he sucks. I am sure Belichick sees something thought. Probably STs. This overall was a great draft. We have young guys at OLB and DE and you cannot get better if you continue to replace players and hinder development. "It is not about collecting talent. It is about building a team." -BB This draft proves that point. Solid guys this year. Both for now and for the future.Posted by FOWLER8196

I think some of your points are valid, but you have to credit that Belichick was able to leave the Patriots with two 1st round picks, and two 2nd round picks again next year. That's pretty amazing! Better yet, it gives the ability to go after restricted free agents, if things are close to the same after the PU and owners get things straight.

I am glad there are Pats fans out there who realize that this IS a good draft... People blow things out of proportion every year, then act like they were on board all along when the pick pans out, then starts the whole process over with the next years draft.

I'm not sure how well we did on the draft, but what I do know is that the Patriots were awful on defense last year. Here are a few stats: 25th overall and 29th against the pass; 31st or next to last on opponent's 3rd and 4th down conversions. On offense we ramked 8th in the league overall, yet lost the 1st down and time-of-possession battles to our opponents. The only defensive addition to the team that I see is Dowling. I'm dubious as to whether he makes the team that much better. We lost MeGinest, Vrabel, Seymour and Bruschi from our Super Bowl teams. Do the names---Pierre Woods, Adalious Thomas, Gary Guyton, Shawn Crable, LeKevin Smith, Derrick Burgess, Terdell Sands, Brandon Deaderick and Tully Banta Cain---come to mind as capable replacements?

Not only the athleticism of Solder but the upside as well. From the few things I've read the Pats org. has been eyeballing this guy for a while. He was obviously the favorite and not an either/or kind of thing.

I'm not sure how well we did on the draft, but what I do know is that the Patriots were awful on defense last year. Here are a few stats: 25th overall and 29th against the pass; 31st or next to last on opponent's 3rd and 4th down conversions. On offense we ramked 8th in the league overall, yet lost the 1st down and time-of-possession battles to our opponents. The only defensive addition to the team that I see is Dowling. I'm dubious as to whether he makes the team that much better. We lost MeGinest, Vrabel, Seymour and Bruschi from our Super Bowl teams. Do the names---Pierre Woods, Adalious Thomas, Gary Guyton, Shawn Crable, LeKevin Smith, Derrick Burgess, Terdell Sands, Brandon Deaderick and Tully Banta Cain---come to mind as capable replacements?Posted by trouts

we fielded one of the youngest Ds in the league last year... they will never get better if we continue to replace rookies, 2nd years with rookies. it just doesn't work like that. you have to stick it out and let them improve. also injuries plagued our DL last year. that is more to blame for 3rd down struggles than lack of pass rush.

I have not seen too much of Solder, but the reports indicate he needs to increase his strength and was "pushed around" at the combine. Yet I have been reading of the Pats desire to get bigger and nastier on the o-line. I am wondering what the Pats saw in Solder that they did not see in Costanzo, who I had the chance to see quite a bit of..he is bigger than Solder, stronger, and numerous teams had him rated higher. What did the Pats see or not see between the two?Posted by rkarp

much higher ceiling with Solder than with Costanzo. Only just switched to OT a few seasons ago. Dante will imporve this kid ten-fold.

Solder feels like an over grown TE. Costanzo like a bigger, more athletic Mankins. I understand that the Pats pull their tackles now and again, but I prefer smash mouth. It seemed to me last year Koppen, Mankins, Connely were playing hardball and Light and Vollmer were playing finesse. I would like to see some more size and meanness next to Mankins at TPosted by rkarp

yes this is true, but the combination of finesse outside and meanness inside is what keeps tom brady's sack numbers down and simultaneously opens up the running game.

I'm not sure how well we did on the draft, but what I do know is that the Patriots were awful on defense last year. Here are a few stats: 25th overall and 29th against the pass; 31st or next to last on opponent's 3rd and 4th down conversions. On offense we ramked 8th in the league overall, yet lost the 1st down and time-of-possession battles to our opponents. The only defensive addition to the team that I see is Dowling. I'm dubious as to whether he makes the team that much better. We lost MeGinest, Vrabel, Seymour and Bruschi from our Super Bowl teams. Do the names---Pierre Woods, Adalious Thomas, Gary Guyton, Shawn Crable, LeKevin Smith, Derrick Burgess, Terdell Sands, Brandon Deaderick and Tully Banta Cain---come to mind as capable replacements?Posted by trouts

Trouts, those stats are awful but I wouldn't call the defense awful. Left out was the fact that they were 8th overall in points allowed and 1st overall in interceptions. Also those are regular season stats where the team went 14-2 and locked down the number 1 seed.

If you look at the playoffs it was the offense that didn't play up to snuff, especially last year against the Jets. The defense played well enough to win, I thought.

Another thing, the Pats offense gave the defense short fields all day.Against the Jets 3 out of their 4 TD drives were less than 50 yards.Against the Ravens 4 out of 5 of their TD drives were less than 52 yards.

i dont know how interested anyone is, but this is my interpretation of the past three days. Solder is who we think he is. Big guy. Upside. Dante will handle him. Dowling is a corner who will compete with bodden. Vereen and Ridley are backs to add to the rotation. I want to see more of a rotation this year than we saw last year. Sure we had a 1000 yard rusher in BJGE, but having a ton of guys to line up back there is an assett. Also everyone is freaking out about the ridley selection... I picture him as Sammy Morris. He will lead block and pound on short distance. Mallett is my favorite pick in this years draft. As patriots fans we should understand how the media blows everything out of proportion... thanks to them we were able to draft brady's successor or a future trade chip when Newton busts. My personal opinion is Mallett will be the the starting QB in NE by 2015. Cannon will start when healthy. Smith will be our next Crumpler. Blocker and leader. Carter is a project. Add him to the slew. Williams... as far as I can tell he sucks. I am sure Belichick sees something thought. Probably STs. This overall was a great draft. We have young guys at OLB and DE and you cannot get better if you continue to replace players and hinder development. "It is not about collecting talent. It is about building a team." -BB This draft proves that point. Solid guys this year. Both for now and for the future.Posted by FOWLER8196

I think you UNDERESTIMATE Vereen. The film on him looks to me like he is a bonifide feature back. Not scary. But:1. great instincts2. very good exceleration3. Good speed - not world class but good4. Good shifts making it hard to get direct shots on him5. strong legs6. strong effective straight arm which he uses frequently in his shifts that limit erm tackles and ward off what might otherwise be direct shots.7. Can catch8. Is tough and willing to try to get the tough yards

In Response to Re: my take on the draft : we fielded one of the youngest Ds in the league last year... they will never get better if we continue to replace rookies, 2nd years with rookies. it just doesn't work like that. you have to stick it out and let them improve. also injuries plagued our DL last year. that is more to blame for 3rd down struggles than lack of pass rush.Posted by FOWLER8196

This is true IF after watching the players day in and day out in practice over the course of the year and in games believe they have what it takes.

I agree with your statement and I expect this D will improve in every aspect of the game over last year. For that reason but also with a number of people returning form injury as well.

Fowler- I offered up my take on your thread here this morn, with a lengthy breakdown of my 2 favorite targets in this draft crop, buuut on the last sentence, the very LAST one, my thump clicked something on the nice computer page, and yup-bye-bye, Entire post. So, I'll be brief now, very brief... As you guys know, I hated this draft, made mention in several threads (and it has nothing to do with the pass-rush), YET: time to understand... 2 guys I AM pretty high on, Ras I and Vareen, in their skill-set alone, reminds me VERY much of 2 Patriots... Ras I=Leigh Bodden...underrated press CB with big size, very, very fluid for a dude his size, And even cooler thing=Versatility (BB's fav term). Ras I does have the speed and tackling prowess (no duck and swipe), to potentially sometime later, or in varying schematic looks, even get some looks at Safety if need be=More complicated schemes to throw at Offenses. Vareen? VERY much (I can't even express this enough), looks in his running style, like what I saw in Curtis Martin... No home-run threat, no break your ankles moves, heck not even massive tackle breaking...but NOT sub-par or lacking here. What he does have? Incredibly deliberate and decisive decision making. His hands are sooo soft, almost wideout-esque. Excellent cutting to hole, and above all else, and an extremely underrated skill=Almost, idk- Efficiency in his running style...always. He'll be a guy that never gets minus yards, never goes for 40 yard runs, breaking 37 tackles and blowing by guys, But gets 4-5 yards Always, again and again and again... Hope I'm correct here. Alright "Enter anddd "Submit"? Posted by LazarusintheSanatorium

I agree with you Vereen is a natural runner. Has the instinct. But while he does not have world class speed he has pretty darn good speed. Not only in his times but on the field. He will get 20, 30 and 40 yard runs and a few 50s as well. Not with regularity. He is not Chris Johnson. But where BJGE got 7-9 yards he will threaten to break them for 20 to 40 yards. Ds will pay a little more dearly if they dare the Pats to run. This means they will either pay the price more dearly and time of possession will swing our way or they will give TB enough rope to hang themselves.

THIS PICK MAKES TOM BRADY MORE DANGEROUS. This guy Vereen is NOT just a thrid down option.